Every year Valentine's Day is becoming more and more popular to celebrate in our country. But what do we know about this holiday?
Most likely just a few facts:
- Once upon a time there lived a loving Valentine, who later became a saint;
- it is customary to celebrate this holiday in Western countries;
- traditionally, lovers give each other valentines, sweets and flowers.
Here are 5 interesting facts about February 14:
1. Unfortunately, Valentine's Day has long been recognized as a commercial holiday. Billions of valentines are produced annually, and confectionery companies are making hundreds of heart-shaped boxes by February 14 to wrap their chocolates. In Japan, for example, chocolate is a traditional gift for a man on this day. And this tradition was originally laid down by a confectionery factory back in the thirties of the last century. Therefore, one cannot judge about any romantic beginning of the holiday.
2. It turns out that Saint Valentine has ceased to be a saint since 1969. In the last century, his face was decanonized by the Catholic Church due to the fact that there are many dubious legends about his real life. So, in one of them it is said that Valentine was a doctor who secretly married lovers when marriages were prohibited in the Roman Empire. According to another version, Saint Valentine turned out to be a martyr and spent a long time in prison for witchcraft. It is also interesting that February 14 is officially recognized as the Day of St. Methodius and St. Cyril.
3. February 14, as a holiday, became nothing more than a project to combat paganism. The fact is that the day before, on February 15 until the 5th century, a pagan Roman holiday was celebrated - Lupercalia. On this day, it was customary to drink a lot of wine and love each other, therefore Lupercalia was also called the holiday of eroticism and abundance. The church was against such excesses and was active in favor of Valentine's Day.
4. In literature, the first mention of February 14 as a holiday occurred in the fourteenth century from English-language literature. English poet Dfeffrey Chaucer first describes "Valentine's Day" as romantic in his poem. Until that time, not a single literary work presented this day as romantic.
5. A few more facts about what happened on February 14:
- the most popular YouTube video hosting channel was founded in 2005;
- the date of death of Captain James Cook is officially recognized on February 14, 1779;
- in 1903, it was on February 14 that the Department of Commerce was created in the United States;
- in 2003, on February 14, the cloned sheep Dolly died, at that time she was 6, 5 years old.
